There are a variety of problems encountered by individuals taking multiple prescription medications simultaneously. A principal concern is determining whether all medications have been taken in compliance with the prescribed daily regimen. Many times this concern is compounded by the requirement that portions of the various medications must be taken at different times during the day as well as in different amounts or quantities. For instance, some individuals, e.g., those suffering from certain psychological disorders, may require varying quantities of a particular medication. For example, a patient receiving lithium may require a low dosage of the medication when administration begins (e.g., 200 mg). However, as the patient's treatment continues, stronger doses (e.g., 300 mg) may be prescribed as the patient's levels are titrated upward from the starting level. Thus, a patient receiving lithium may be prescribed a single 200 mg pill for the first three days of treatment, whereafter stronger pills, or additional doses of weaker pills, are prescribed.
The fear of taking improper dosages of prescribed medications can be particularly acute in the elderly, many of whom have some degree of mental dementia and can easily be confused as to whether they have taken all of their mediations at the correct time. Some patients with limited mental abilities have difficulty simply sorting their various medications in preparation for taking them and, thereafter, taking them in a timely manner (i.e., in compliance with their dosing cycle). Providing medications to disabled and/or incapacitated individuals can also be a problem for caregivers, particularly those in hospitals and assisted living facilities where one caregiver may oversee the medication of many patients.
Thus, there is a need for an automated system for ordering and integrating multiple prescription medications, whereby patients may receive consolidated groups of medications for administration (e.g., usually, consumption) at prescribed dosing intervals and in prescribed, possibly varying, quantities. Such a system would decrease the possibility of human error and provide a simple mechanism for the correct selection, verification, integration, packaging and delivery of multiple prescription medications (also referred to as “multi-scripts”).
There is also a need for a similar system for ordering and integrating multiple non-prescription medications. Many individuals take a large variety of vitamins, herbal supplements, herbs, oils, nutraceuticals, and other similar non-prescription medications. As with prescription medications, these drugs may also require variable dosing cycles/intervals, and the advantages that accrue from an integrated order packaged with all of the medications for a particular date and dosing interval are associated with non-prescription medications in substantially the same proportion that they are associated with prescription medications.
There is currently a lack of packaging solutions (either front-end or back-end) that allow a patient, doctor or caregiver to generate an integrated label for multiple medications. Thus, there is a need for a system capable of generating an integrated label, preferably a system capable of operating with any front-end pharmacy solution and any back-end automated filling robot.
The following description provides a convenient and efficient way for patients, pharmacists, and physicians to place orders for multiple tablets. The description also provides a system and method for integration of the multiple tablet orders, whereby patients may receive consolidated groups of tablets for administration at prescribed dosing intervals and prescribed quantities.